United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan believes Government allowed the horse to bolt from the barn before tabling its drastic Parental Responsibility Act to tackle the Island's social problems.

And Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Shawn Crockwell says it's time parents finally realised they must take responsibility for their children's actions — even if some don't like it.

Meanwhile family support groups gave a mixed response to Attorney General Kim Wilson's legislation — some offering support while calling for parents to be given more help bringing their children up.

All observers speaking to The Royal Gazette agreed something serious has to be done to tackle the sharp rise in poor behaviour among young people.

Mr. Swan said in a statement: "This legislation was not drafted in a vacuum. There is real concern across the Island that significant numbers of young Bermudians are growing up disconnected from life values that would normally be instilled in the embrace of a healthy family and a caring community.

"While there are precedents in other jurisdictions for the measures contained in the bill, the challenge for Bermuda is not simply to pass such legislation but to make sure we have systems in place that can make it work as intended.

"The UBP will therefore study the operational implications of the bill very closely in the days ahead.

"This is extremely important because the legislation expands like never before the authority of the state to intervene in the most sacred of relationships — that between parent and child.

"And so our first concern is to make sure Bermuda has the capacity, the systems, the personnel and the compassion to make these unprecedented powers work for the benefit of our young people and their families.

"The parental responsibility legislation has come very late in the day and stands as testament to this Government's negligence toward obvious and growing social problems in the community."

Mr. Swan said the UBP tabled similar legislation in 1998, shortly before it lost power to the Progressive Labour Party.

"The proposed legislation is the Government's belated effort to lasso the horse after it has left the barn," he said.

"It is symptomatic of a larger failure to use their time in office to focus on the needs and challenges faced by working families."

Mr. Crockwell said his BDA colleague Mark Pettingill had been calling for parental responsibility legislation for some time.

"I think parents need to appreciate in the absence of them doing their job as a parent and being a responsible parent, there could be some consequences," said Mr. Crockwell.

"I do think people are not going to like it; they are going to feel this is going to be harsh. We had similar complaints when we just passed the Firearms Amendment Act, that it's targeting a certain demographic of the community.

"Some parents work two or three jobs, so the courts will have to be understanding about that as well."

Mr. Crockwell said the law would first embarrass bad parents by making them go to court; and then hit them in the pocket if they fail to abide by the order.

Sheelagh Cooper of the Coalition for the Protection of Children was the most critical commentator, dubbing the bill draconian and saying more resources should have been ploughed into turning children into happy, well nurtured, fully functioning individuals.

Describing the bill as "a political attempt to pander to the people that are concerned about the violence in this community", she said: "The children are not the people who are creating the violence; it's people aged 18 to their late 20s."

Mrs. Cooper pointed to cost-cutting closures of summer school programmes, which she said has left the most vulnerable children without support.

"If you talk to any Grade One or Grade Two teacher, they will tell you they can very early identify which children are on a trajectory and are going to end up in trouble," she said.

"They need to be given help and support for their families. If we are going to really make a difference, we need to approach this by providing support."

Meanwhile the Family Centre said legislation must work alongside prevention programmes, financial assistance, education reforms and parental incentive programmes.

"Within this context we encourage legislation that remains focused on reducing youth involvement in anti-social behaviours and promoting healthier choices by encouraging more responsible parenting," said the centre in a statement.

"Any prosecution should be balanced with supports and prevention programmes. Instead of 'shaming' we want to empower parents with the tools they need to be successful."

The centre said the bill shows parental responsibility is being taken seriously and applauds the introduction of compulsory counselling for bad parents.

But it warned the law also risks setting up a "confrontational dynamic between parent and child" and said that it's been vaguely drafted, leaving much to the individual interpretation of the courts.

And it expressed concern over the Department of Child and Family Services' capacity to assess families' social circumstances before orders are made.

Director Martha Dismont added: "Family Centre is working closely with the Attorney General's Office to support efforts to ensure that this legislation has every chance to succeed, even with our concern that legislation truly needs to support preventive measures."